Carol Cardillo, 54, of Edgewood Road, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of Adam Seagull, an infant at an illegal home daycare center she ran at her home. Fairfield, CT. 9/8/16

Carol Cardillo, 54, of Edgewood Road, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of Adam Seagull, an infant at an illegal home daycare center she ran at her home. Fairfield, CT. 9/8/16

A view of 63 Edgewood Road in Fairfield, Conn., on Wednesday Oct. 12, 2016. Police say on March 22nd, officers responded to the home to investigate after a baby boy was found unresponsive. The infant was taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. After an investigation, officers found that 53-year-old Carol Cardillo had been operating an unlicensed daycare out of her home for the past 11 years. The baby was one of nine children in her care that day. less

A view of 63 Edgewood Road in Fairfield, Conn., on Wednesday Oct. 12, 2016. Police say on March 22nd, officers responded to the home to investigate after a baby boy was found unresponsive. The infant was taken ... more

Adam Seagull, of Shelton, died March 22 while the in care of Carol Cardillo, who ran an unlicensed home daycare at her Edgewood Road home. Cardillo was arrested Thursday and charged in the infant's death. Fairfield, CT. 9/8/16 less

Adam Seagull, of Shelton, died March 22 while the in care of Carol Cardillo, who ran an unlicensed home daycare at her Edgewood Road home. Cardillo was arrested Thursday and charged in the infant's death. ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo

Image 4 of 5

Matthew and Michelle Seagull, of Shelton, talk about the death of their infant son, Adam, while in the care of an unlicensed home daycare in Fairfield.

Matthew and Michelle Seagull, of Shelton, talk about the death of their infant son, Adam, while in the care of an unlicensed home daycare in Fairfield.

Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media

Image 5 of 5

Jury selection to start in Fairfield daycare OD case

1 / 5

Back to Gallery

FAIRFIELD - Jury selection begins Monday morning for the trial of an unlicensed Fairfield daycare provider accused of killing a 4-month-old Shelton boy with an overdose of Benadryl.

Carol Cardillo, who operated the unlicensed daycare out of her Edgewood Road home for 11 years, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child for the March 22, 2016, death of Adam Seagull who had only been in her care for 11 days.

A panel of prospective jurors will be brought before Superior Court Judge John Kavanewsky Jr. in Bridgeport on Monday morning as Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen Zingaro and Cardillo’s lawyer, Eugene Riccio, begin selected members for the six-person jury.

The baby’s parents, Matthew and Michelle Seagull, are expected to attend the trial as they have every previous court hearing.

The baby died after being put down for a nap at Cardillo's daycare. At the time, there were seven other children in Cardillo's care, ranging in age from 4 months to 4 years old.

Related Stories

Police said they received a 911 call around 3 p.m. about an unresponsive infant. Adam Seagull showed no signs of trauma, and before the autopsy it was assumed he died from sudden infant death syndrome.

The autopsy revealed that the baby had 41,000 nanograms per milliliter of Benadryl in his system, 5,000 nanograms per milliliter and above is a reportable limit.

Drugs like Benadryl are not supposed to be given to children under the age of 2. The baby’s parents later told police their son had not been given any medications during his short life, and they definitely did not give Cardillo any permission to do so.

Police said Cardillo repeatedly denied giving the baby Benadryl and said she did not have any in her home. However, police said that records they obtained from the CVS pharmacy showed that between Jan. 1, 2013, and May 24, 2016, Cardillo purchased 90 bottles of Benadryl, the last one purchased a week before the baby died.

The purchases consisted of both 4- and 8-ounce bottles, the majority of which were children's bubble gum or cherry flavored, police said.

Police said Cardillo told them she Adam Seagull was "alert and responsive" during the morning. She gave him a bottle of Enfamil around 11:45 a.m., and brought him upstairs for a nap after his feeding.

He was put down for a nap around 12:30 p.m., and Cardillo told police she checked on him around 1:45 p.m. and "observed his chest moving up and down."

An hour later, however, she went into the room to wake him from his nap and found that he was blue and stiff.

Cardillo told police she picked him up and began to scream for help, but "did not know or attempt to perform CPR."

One employee stated, according to police, “She knew the boy was dead immediately upon seeing him."

Another employee, following the instructions of the 911 dispatcher, attempted CPR.